Rodents (rats and mice) can be a big issue this time of year.
As it gets cold outside rodents will make their way inside your home and business looking for shelter and food.
Rodents carry diseases and can cause extensive damage to electrical systems and other parts of your home or business.
Did you know that 1 in 20 house fires are caused by rodents chewing on electrical wires in peoples attics? That being said, a little prevention can go a long way to keeping your home or business rodent free! There are 3 main ways we will look at to keeping rodents OUT: eliminating entry points, preventing food sources, and basic prevention with bait stations and traps.
One thing that is commonly overlooked is how the rodents are gaining entry into your home or business.
It is important to make sure you check your building on a regular basis and make sure there are no obvious entry points.
Rodents can squeeze through holes and cracks the thickness of a pencil! Weather-stripping is a commonly overlooked entry point.
Most garage doors as well as doors leading to the outside will have some form of weather stripping on it.
If you can see daylight coming in, it needs to be replaced.
I would also ask you pay attention to pipe/air conditioning penetrations going into the wall.
When buildings are built, contractors are famous for cutting holes much larger than the pipe that will go into it.
You can either patch this up or use steel wool to plug the hole.
Steel wool is very effective at plugging holes because the rodents will cut their gums when trying to chew through it.
Even if you have a hole up high, plug it.
Remember that rats and mice are excellent climbers.
An available food source is an easy way to attract a rat or mouse problem.
By leaving bowls of dog or cat food outside, or even inside for that matter, you are inviting rodents into your home.
Be sure to only feed your pets when they are going to eat, and remove any standing food sources.
I would suggest putting any dog or cat food into plastic containers and put it up.
This holds true with birdseed also, if you have a bird feeder, keep it away from your home.
Use common sense with this one.
Remember if the rodents have an easily available food source, like dog or cat food, they will not consume the rat or mouse bait you put out.
This is an important tip for those trying to prevent rats and mice as well as those trying to deal with an infestation.
The third key to preventing a rodent problem is utilizing a monthly baiting program.
By placing bait boxes around your property, filling them with bait, and checking them monthly, you can keep the rodents from ever making it inside your home.
This holds true with both residential homes as well as businesses.
Bait stations lock to prevent non target animals from getting into them.
This provides a safe and effective way to keep bait around your property without worrying about other animals, or even kids for that matter, from gaining access to your bait.
You should secure the stations down with a patio block and make sure to lock the tight.
These stations also work well with traps.
Instead of placing bait inside the bait stations, many people opt to use snap traps instead.
There is a place in the middle where most rat and mouse traps will fit securely.
Simply bait the trap with a little peanut butter or other rodent attractant to provide your property with excellent protection against rats looking to get in your property.
Note that these stations should be placed up against the outside wall of the building or dumpster to provide optimal results.
Rodents will use their whiskers to walk against the walls and by placing the bait/trap stations right in their paths you will have better results.
In conclusion prevention is much easier than control.
By utilizing these simple steps you can keep your property rodent free.
Unfortunately, most people don't think about these things until they already have a problem with rats or mice.
Even at this point I would recommend using these steps first, and then moving on to a more extensive inside attack.